Bill's PurpleCrayon Blog

MEETING THE SONGBIRD

I like to think I'm well versed in all things musical. My tastes range far and wide, from Bach to progressive rock, from blues to jazz, and from the Beatles to Evanescence. I own music from Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Brazil, Finland, Sweden and England.

So how in the world did I miss Eva Cassidy?!?!?!

Eva Cassidy died in 1996 at the age of 33 after a three-month battle with bone cancer. Yet her CDs -- most of which were released posthumously (including the new one called American Tune ) -- sell millions world wide.

It's not hard to see why.

Eva Cassidy could sing blues, rock, ballads, pop standards and everything in between. Her range was extraordinary. Her phrasing impeccable. Her power unmistakable. Her timbre alluring. She exuded passion. She was electrifying. Listening to her renditions of Sting's "Fields of Gold," the timeless Louis Armstrong classic "What a Wonderful World," Judy Garland's signature song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and John Lennon's masterpiece "Imagine" (as I am now) brings me equal measure of tears and goose bumps. The way her voice fades out at the end of "Imagine" reminds me of the sound a bell makes when it's struck and left to resound until the note decays below the range of audibility. Her tone is that pure.

Every life that ends prematurely is a tragedy. But it seems worse, somehow, when highly talented Artists are taken before they've had a chance to share their creative gifts with the world -- or hear the accolades they so richly deserved.

And, sadly, Eva was virtually unknown during her lifetime. Laura Bligh, Eva's cousin, wrote the following on her superb Eva Cassidy web site:

Even in the Washington DC area, Eva was *not* well-known to the public before the flurry of publicity connected with her illness and death. On many occasions I would go to hear her perform and see mostly-empty tables. Guitarist Keith Grimes once observed, "We were beyond obscure." I know this is hard for you to believe! The lesson here is to GET OUT THERE AND HEAR LIVE MUSIC! Not just the big international acts, go to the folk coffeehouses and the dingy little bars and clubs, and see what talent is out there undiscovered. Tell them that Eva Cassidy sent you! As Jeff D. wrote in the guestbook, "The fact that you won't hear another Eva Cassidy shouldn't deter you -- there has never been another Eva Cassidy -- but there will be someone else."

Very well put. I totally agree.

So where do you start with Eva's CDs? How about Songbird. Over 470 listeners on Amazon gave it an average of 5 stars. Or Imagine, which may be my favorite.

After that, pick any one. Live at Blues Alley. Time After Time. Eva By Heart. American Tune. They're all spellbinding.

I'm devastated that I didn't -- and never will be able to -- see Eva perform live. But I'm grateful she left behind such wondrous music for everyone to enjoy.

And I intend to.

Keep Purple!


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ENLIGHTENMENT

I recently stumbled across a quote from Gandhi that I absolutely love:

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Whenever I bemoan the sorry state of the world (especially while watching the nightly news or driving GR's congested streets), Gandhi's quote pops -- mantra-like -- into my head.

I can't change the world.

But I can be the change I wish to see in the world.

And maybe that will, to paraphrase Robert Frost, make all the difference.

Hey, it's a start.

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FRESH-FALLEN SNOW

Yesterday, Grand Rapids was brown. This morning, it was covered with a blanket of fresh-fallen snow.

What a wonderful way to start Christmas Day!

Since Bradbury, our oh-so-inquisitive Scottish Fold cat, has already begun helping us unwrap presents (actually, he kind of started without us -- last night), I'd better make this blog short and sweet:

Merry Christmas from all of us at PurpleCrayon Direct!

Keep Purple!


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"WE ARE ALL PURSUING MAGIC"

Friday night's sold-out Trans-Siberian Orchestra show at Van Andel Arena was nothing short of magical.

From our fourth row, slightly-stage-right vantage point, we enjoyed every moment of this remarkable and unique Chistmas performance.

We were "snowed" on, felt the heat from jets of fire erupting from behind the stage, and watched awe-struck as red and green laser beams pierced the darkness -- all part of an amazing musical tour de force that drew upon traditional Christmas songs as well as well-known classical pieces (I have no doubt that if such power and instrumentation had existed a few hundred years ago, Beethoven would have gladly used them to stage his incomparable symphonies).

As I expected, the spectacle was emotionally overwhelming. Elisabeth and I were in tears a few times that night. I have been to hundreds of concerts in the past 25 years (including Peter Gabriel, KISS, Queen, Rush, King Crimson, The Who, Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Alice Cooper, Kansas, Red Priest, Blind Guardian, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Queensryche, Pearl Jam, Symphony X, Marillion, Pink Floyd, Yes and countless others) but none compares to the nearly three hour show put on by TSO. It is an event without peer.

Equally as moving -- and every bit as magical -- was the third installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy: The Return of the King. We saw the three and a half hour movie Saturday afternoon.

The Return of the King is a vast, grand, lively epic filled with heroes, sword fights, romance, honor, and the moving pageant of good triumphing over evil. I know many of the scenes were CGI, but it was breathtaking nonetheless. Director Peter Jackson deserves an Oscar for The Return of the King.

We agree with the narrator of the TSO show. We are, indeed, in pursuit of magic.

And we received over six hours of it this past weekend.

My hat is off to the talented perfomers of Trans-Siberian Orchestra...not to mention everyone involved with the making of entire Lord of the Rings trilogy. Both are shining examples of the very best Artists have to offer.

If you want to know why PurpleCrayon exists, look no further than your nearest movie theater. Or concert stage.

Magic. Passion. Awe. Creativity. Flamboyance. Talent. Spectacle.

It's all there.

And it's what we thrive on.

Keep Purple!


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IN THE SPIRIT OF JOHN CAGE

In 1952, composer John Cage shocked the music world when pianist David Tudor performed Cage's controversial piece 4’33” (pronounced four minutes, thirty three seconds).

Elisabeth and I caught a performance Saturday night on Wealthy Street, just a couple of doors down from The Wealthy Street Theater, that echoed the spirit of 4'33". (Wealthy Street, in case you’re not aware, has undergone a wonderful transformation in the past year or so. In fact, it’s quickly becoming one of the artistic hotspots in Grand Rapids, with 3-4 galleries in addition to the beautifully restored Wealthy Street Theater.)

Sometimes erroneously called a “silent” composition, Cage's 4'33" was three movements in which Tudor never touched the piano’s keys. Instead, he simply raised and lowered the keyboard cover to signal the start and finish of each movement. Although the piano played nothing, the audience murmured, rustled and whispered. Outside, the wind could be heard. It had begun to rain. The pianist's chair creaked.

And that was Cage's musical composition.

Music, to Cage, wasn't always about the notes played, but about the sounds heard in everyday life. In the case of 4'33", the "music" was all the ambient sounds made by the audience, or by the wind outside. As such, Cage's "non-intentional" 4'33" could never be played the same way twice. Each performance was unique and unrepeatable.

Cage's composition received harsh criticism at the time (especially by the audience at that frist performance) but it was a major influence on the music of the Beatles some 10-15 years later. Check out The Beatles' "Tomorrow Never Knows" from Revolver for example.

Saturday night’s performance by Rachel Finan and Heather Foster, both yoga teachers as well as dancers, took a page right out of Cage's book of philosophy.

Rachel is the co-founder and artistic director of the X Performance Group, an experimental theater group which includes Butoh dance. Heather is an affiliated Anusara Yoga teacher who enjoys free and spontaneous movement. Together, they performed Butoh improv for five hours Friday night and five hours Saturday night. The room in which they danced featured dozens of Slinkys hung from the ceiling. The Slinkys added not only a strange and somewhat unsettling appearance to the performance, but they became part of the performance itself when they were touched, pulled, grabbed, or simply bumped into.

Rachel and Heather's performance was fascinating in that it, too, was unique and unrepeatable. Not to mention highly experimental.

Cage would have been proud.

For those who like to say nothing truly artistic ever happens in Grand Rapids, I say spend some time in one of the galleries on Wealthy Street. Contact UICA. Or seek out one of Rachel's X Performance Group events.

Keep Purple!


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